By Bridget Spinks
JESUS the servant is the model for the Deacon, Archbishop Barry Hickey said in his homily at the Diaconate Ordinations of five men at Mary MacKillop Parish, Ballajura on 20 August.
Archbishop Hickey ordained four seminarians, Anibal Leite da Cunha, Cyprian Shikokoti, Emmanuel Valentine Dimobi and Daniel Boyd to the Diaconate for the priesthood in the Archdiocese of Perth.
With special permission from Bishop Christopher Saunders of Broome, Archbishop Hickey also ordained Frank Birrell to the Diaconate for the Diocese of Broome.
Bishop Christopher Saunders of Broome Diocese, Perth Vicar General Mgr Brian O’Loughlin, St Charles Seminary Rector Mgr Kevin Long and up to 40 Perth clergy concelebrated the Mass.
Students from both St Charles and Redemptoris Mater seminaries were present in the congregation of up to 800 people.
After the readings the Archbishop called the candidates. Mgr Long testified “they have been found worthy” of ordination to the Diaconate.
Archbishop Hickey gave his consent and accepted the ordinands. In his homily, he said that the vocation for these new Deacons, who are “in transit” to the Priesthood, are called to follow Jesus who came to serve, not to be served.
He said, the Deacon is called to serve God in humility and thanksgiving; to serve Jesus who in the Gospel of John called his followers “no longer servants but friends”.
The Deacon is also called to serve the Church and the people of the Church in many ways, including the administration of the sacraments and in their special ministry of the Chalice, he said.
Archbishop Hickey added that the vocation to the diaconate is a call to proclaim the Word of God and preach the Gospel to the people in the Church and in the world.
He emphasised the deacon’s vocation to serve the world, saying they were called to take “the Word out into the world beyond the doors of the Church”.
“I say that specifically tonight because if there was ever a time in the world’s history when the Word of God is needed out there, beyond our borders, it is now,” Archbishop Hickey said on the eve of the federal election.
He said that the Word of God has been needed “in every time” but was especially needed now, in Australia, as “we can see strong currents all around us: in politics, in social policy, in the way people live their lives as if God didn’t exist”.
He encouraged the Deacons to proclaim the Word of God that they “treasure in their hearts” to the media, in the streets and in the market place.
He encouraged them to proclaim the Word on several different occasions: to the people who seek the truth or the knowledge of Jesus Christ and to those who are poor or hungry or lonely.
“The Word of God is needed to transform our society,” he said.
“Offer them the Word of God that will change their lives by the action of the Holy Spirit,” he said in the homily.
After the homily the five candidates freely committed themselves to lives of celibacy “for the sake of the Kingdom and in lifelong service to God and all people”.
They were then examined on their intention to accept and fulfill the responsibilities of the diaconate. Then the four Perth ordinands knelt one by one before Archbishop Hickey and promised obedience to him.
Frank Birrell also knelt before Archbishop Barry Hickey but promised obedience to his Ordinary, Bishop Saunders.
To symbolise their humble submission before God, the five ordinands prostrated themselves on the sanctuary while the Ballajura parish choir and congregation sang the Litany of the Saints.
At the conclusion of the Litany, Archbishop Barry Hickey laid hands on each candidate and said the Prayer of Consecration.
Fr Philip Perreau, Fr Patrick Lim, Fr Nicholas Nweke and Fr Bonaventure Echeta and members of the Deacons’ families then invested the candidates with Stole and Dalmatic.
After the Mass, the newly ordained celebrated the occasion with their families and friends in the piazza area on the school grounds.
Ballajura parish priest Fr John Jegorow said that up to 120 parishioners had helped behind the scenes for the evening from the parking, catering, to the preparation of food and drinks.
“Paul Cranley, the deputy RE organised the year six’s from the school to help clean the grounds,” Fr Jegerow added.
Fr Jegorow said that he offered his parish to host the occasion since the parish had been hosting student seminarian, Deacon Emmanuel Valentie Dimobi, for the last twelve months.
“We’re his family,” Fr John Jegerow, Ballajura parish priest said, explaining why the ordinations were held in a Perth parish and not at St Mary’s Cathedral.
“It’s significant because it is Mary MacKillop’s canonisation coming up and it’s a special event for this parish church,” he said.
The New Deacons
Deacon Emmanuel Valentine Dimobi
… from Nigeria has been the first seminarian to be on placement at Mary MacKillop Ballajura. He said it was a “great honour and privilege” for the ordinations to be held in his parish, in the same year that Mary MacKillop is to be canonised Australia’s first saint in Rome.
Emmanuel said he was looking forward to being a Deacon after “studying all his life” for the priesthood. He is still in the process of completing his Masters in Arts (Philosophy) at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle. Emmanuel studied philosophy in Nigeria.
Then he went to Rome to undertake a Masters in Communication at the Gregorian University and later a Bachelor of Theology at the Angelicum.
When he came to Australia in August last year, he was assigned to the parish of Ballajura.
He said that putting into practise all the theology in the parish of Ballajura has been a “great experience”.
While on placement, he has been involved with the altar service as an acolyte and would take Holy Communion to the sick in hospitals and different homes every Sunday, as well as teach catechism through the week. Deacon Emmanuel has been assigned to the parish of Floreat/Wembley until his priestly ordination.
Deacon Cyprian Shikokoti
… from Kenya, has been studying for the priesthood for 11 years. He said it was “wonderful” to be coming to the end of his studies for the priesthood.
He entered the minor seminary in Kenya in 1999 and continued his studies at the major seminary with the Mill Hill priests.
When Archbishop Barry Hickey was travelling in Kenya in 2006, he invited Cyprian to continue his studies at St Charles’ seminary and to be ordained for the Perth archdiocese.
Deacon Cyprian said his uncle, Fr Kenneth Asaba, parish priest for Our Lady of Montserrat, Southern Cross, inspired him.
“He’s still inspiring me,” he said. Deacon Cyprian has been assigned to the parish of St Mary’s Star of the Sea, Cottesloe.
Deacon Daniel Boyd
…who grew up in Bassendean, said he had thoughts of becoming a priest when he was as young as eight or nine years old. Although he left the Church for a while, he said he always had “that longing and desire,” which got stronger over time
“I believe God calls us when it’s right,” he said. Before entering the seminary, Daniel was working as a chartered accountant but wasn’t finding it fulfilling.
He questioned whether he wanted to spend the rest of his life pursuing “money, career and success”. “I came in as a raw person; a piece of unmoulded clay in my 30s,” he said. On the day of his ordination to the deaconate, he said he woke up 100 per cent confident that this is what he wanted to be doing. “I just can’t wait to start work,” he said. As a seminarian, Daniel carried out pastoral work in Bateman and Clarkson. As Deacon, he has been assigned to Our Lady of Lourdes, Rockingham.
Deacon Anibal Leite da Cunha
…spent seven years in the seminary in East Timor before moving to Perth in 2008. While waiting for Archbishop Hickey to formally accept him into the seminary, while living at home he did six months pastoral work at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Hilton. In the last six months of 2008, he assisted Fr Freddy Gerado-Hernandez at St Mary Star of the Sea in Cottesloe/Mosman Park and studied theology. Since 2009, Anibal has been in residence at St Charles’ seminary where he is finishing two units of counselling. He will finish seminary studies in November. As an Australian resident and since he has been ordained Deacon for the Archdiocese of Perth he said he “belongs to the Perth Archdiocese”.
He said he has been wanting to be a priest since he was a teenager. “A long time; it’s very exciting that’s for sure,” he said.
Deacon Anibal has been assigned to Mary MacKillop Ballajura for the first six weeks as Deacon, before he moves to St Joseph’s Northam.
Deacon Frank Birrell
(ordained for Broome Diocese)
…spent 14 years in the Kimberley teaching. He has held positions as religious education coordinator and assistant principal at Beagle Bay and Derby. When he decided to give up teaching toward the end of 2008, he approached Bishop Christopher Saunders for direction.
At Bishop Saunders’ suggestion, he spent some time assisting clergy as a parish associate in Balgo, Wyndham and Kununurra. He then moved to Perth to study at St Charles Seminary at Bishop Saunders’ suggestion. Deacon Birrell holds a Bachelor degree in Theology from Yarra Theological Union and a Masters in Religious Education from Notre Dame, Fremantle. He will continue to reside at St Charles Seminary to finish his studies where he will practise preaching but he will also visit various parishes for baptisms and to preach.
When Deacon Birrell returns to the Diocese of Broome once ordinated a priest, he will bring the number of Australian ordinations for the Diocese of Broome to a total of six. It will follow the recent ordination to the Priesthood of Fr John Purnell who was ordained by Bishop Christopher Saunders on 23 July this year in Our Lady Queen of Peace Cathedral Broome. “There’s a shortage of priests in the Kimberley,” Deacon Birrell said.
He added that the priests that are “up there are getting older” and that the Bishop has invited some priests from India to come and work in the diocese.
Deacon Birrell said he could only “do this with the Lord’s help and support”.
“There’s a feeling of inadequacy, but that is overridden by the feeling that I’m not alone and that I’ve got great support from the Lord and family and friends and great encouragement from the Bishop,” he said.